What's the Harm?

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Finding The Sweet Spot
Chapter 2 - Is This Just Fantasy?
Chapter 3 - No, It's Reality

Chapter 1 - Finding The Sweet Spot

A stallion with reddish purple fur circled around the strange mark on the ground. "All I have to do is stand in it?" The older unicorn nodded at him. The younger snorted and tossed his sea-green mane lightly. "And then what?"

The older unicorn smiled gently. "And then your mind will be sent through the great cosmos, to see what can be seen. All you need to do is remember what there is, and report it to me. No more, no less. Easy bits."

The younger nodded his head, smiling. "Easy bits." He stepped into the circle and sat on his haunches. "Alright, here I am, do I need to do anything else?"

The older shook his head. "No, just relax, Sweet Moon. You may feel a bit drowsy, go with it." With a firm clop and a glow of his horn, the older unicorn activated the circle and began to channel a frightful amount of power into it, dedicating all his focus into the act. A shame that was, if he had been watching his test subject, he might have noticed Sweet Moon fading away entirely, instead of just nodding off.

When the spell was complete, he let out an explosive sigh and looked up. "Alright, wha--." He trailed off, noticing then that the circle was empty, no unicorn present anymore. "Aw nuts… Celestia's going to penalize my funding, again…"

As Sweet Moon’s consciousness began to return, the first thing that hit him was the smell. It was earthy, with an undertone of rotting vegetation barely tangible underneath. His hooves were on dirt and grass, and around him was a thin forest with shrubs and pools of standing water visible. The shrill sounds of birds chattering at each other occasionally filled the air, and the sun was high overhead, shining rather brightly, and hot, upon him, the heat nearly stifling to the young unicorn.

Sweet rose to his hooves and shook off, looking around with bright and curious eyes. Was this the dream he was supposed to look at? He looked up at the clouds drifting by overhead and frowned a little. He didn't see any pegasi nudging them around. Were they on top of the cloud? Oh well, dream logic, don't question it! He began to trot forward, having no particular place to be but not wanting to miss whatever it was he was supposed to see.

As he walked, the scenery appeared to be much of the same, some sort of wetlands mixed with a thinned forest. There were no signs of any animals having passed through the grass and dirt, although he could definitely hear them all around. After a bit of walking, however, he came across what could only be a path, fallen trees lining a loosely dirt-packed path heading in two directions, with nothing else immediately visible.

Sweet Moon looked left, then right. Unsure what to do, he sniffed at the air and opted to veer to the right. On the way he began to sing an old nursery rhyme his mother had sung to him about a brave adventurous foal that found treasure while sailing the sea of dreams. He always liked that one.

As his rendition of the nursery rhyme faded into the air, a sound could be heard in the distance, growing slowly in intensity with each passing second. It was hard to make out, but the faint sounds of musical instruments could be heard, with the occasional vocal noise, all of it coming from a blind spot on the path up ahead where it took a hard left turn. Finally, he could heard a rhythmic pounding of something, hooves or feet, also growing in intensity.

Sweet perked an ear curiously at the sound. Was somepony singing along with him? He decided to keep right on with his little song, getting to the part where the foal weathers a storm with wit and bravery as Sweet turned the corner to have a peek at who was singing with him.

As Sweet turned the corner, he was nearly ran over by a tall creature, her blue eyes not even seeing the stallion. He cause sight of a rather long blonde ponytail swaying with every foot that hit the ground, her tanned skin glistening with a heavy sheen of sweat. A few seconds went by before she put on the brakes, turning around to look quizzically at where Sweet was standing.

“What the hell?” she muttered, her voice quite feminine, as she slowly walked to Sweet. “Who left a stuffed animal in the middle of the forest? No one comes out here but me…” she muttered, wiping at her brow with a forearm, standing in front of him.

Sweet Moon blinked at the strange creature with its lack of fur, but it had a pretty enough mane? It was talking to him… "Oh, hello. I'm not stuffed. I'm Sweet Moon, what's your name, miss…?" It was just a dream, no reason not to be polite.

At his words, the passive enchantment that kept Sweet Moon unnoticeable to humans was shattered, and she jumped back with a loud curse. “What the hell?! A talking unicorn?” she exclaimed, eyes bulging for a few moments before they lit up with a glimmer of recognition. She had her guilty pleasures, and one of them just so happened to include My Little Pony. The more she looked, the more she realized that it looked like one of those unicorns straight from the show, although she didn’t recognize this one she thought to herself as she reached forward and poked his cheek with a finger.

Sweet Moon proved to be soft to the touch, and giggled a little at being poked. "I am a unicorn, and I do talk," he agreed, looking her over curiously before he reached out a hoof, ready to give her a little poke in return but uncertain if it would scare her or not. "I'm pretty nice? Besides, it's just a dream. Neither of us can be hurt here, oh wait, are you going to vanish when I wake up?"

He noticed that she was wearing clothes, a rather bright yellow tank top that was rather wet, and a small pair of running shorts matching in color. There was a cord running from a device strapped to her arm to around her neck, where the music was still blaring out of.

Turning down the volume, she smiled and poked him again, laughing at the absurdity of it all. “Usually I’d dream something like this, but not this time. Pretty certain the hemp didn’t get mixed up with the tea leaves again, either… I’m Jessica, Sweet, was it?” she asked, getting down on one knee to look him in the eyes, still breathing rather heavily from her run, as she returned the look.

He bobbed his head strongly. "Jessica? That's a curious name. What does it mean?" Jessica wasn't a word that he knew, that's for sure. "You're not a pony, what kind of creature are you?" He went ahead and reached for her, softly poking her in the side and marveling at the differences in her body versus his own. From her voice he assumed she was a she, but not shaped like any mare he knew.

He felt the soft fabric on his hoof, and a bit of smooth skin as well, getting a bit of both with his poke. Jessica giggled a bit and lightly swatted at his hoof, shaking her head. “Jessica is a very common name… Sweet Moon, now that’s a weird name. Even hippies would agree with me there, and they’re pretty crazy.” Jessica giggled again, petting his head a bit. “I always wondered what that would feel like… it’s pretty soft, just as I’d hoped!”

Sweet pouted a little. "You're talking about me like you know what I am, but you won't say what you are." He reached with his magic, giving the dangling thing around her neck a curious little pull, just to see if it was attached or not. "Well, I suppose you can't say, since you're in my dream, and if I don't know, how can my dream know." He looked mighty satisfied with his logic.

“I, am a human,” Jessica stated rather matter of factly, pointing at her chest before moving her finger to his chest, and pointing at him next. “And you look like a pony from Equestria, although one I’ve never seen on the show,” she remarked, skewing her head to the side a little before leaning to the side a bit, glancing at his rear. “So… what’s your cutie mark mean, hmm?”

The unicorn bobbed his head quickly. "Equestria, yes, that's where I'm from. Human was it?" He tried the word a few times over his tongue. Hew Man. Curious word… "Oh, this?" He turned to display the mark of a moon with a smile on it. "I like gazing at the stars and thinking about things. I don't usually get very far, but I like doing it." He pointed at her. "What's your talent?"

Standing back up, Jessica grinned down at him. “Don’t have one! That’s just something that was thought up for the show, having something that tells you your destiny on your ass is kinda silly, if a bit cute,” she rambled on, leaning forward to stretch, eyes still on him. “So… you said you think this is a dream?”

Sweet watched the way she moved, trying to get a grasp of her parts. Those things with the wriggly bits were her hooves? But they looked terrible for walking on. No, wait… "You're like a minotaur! Without fur, mostly. All your fur's up there." He pointed up at her hair. "Don't you get cold like that? Is that why you're wearing clothes?" It was starting to make sense to him, and he looked all the more pleased for it.

Giggling again, Jessica shook her head, straightening herself back out before looking up to the sun for a few moments. “Nope, as a matter of fact I’m pretty hot right now. It’s the middle of summer in the south, and today’s a cool day… but as much as I’d love to stand here talking to a creature that cannot possibly be real, if I don’t get back I’m going to have a heat stroke,” she quipped, facing the way she’d been heading originally. “Feel free to jog along~”

That was exactly what he decided to do, following alongside of her. "It isn't that terribly hot… but I could use a drink of water." A word or two said to him far earlier suddenly bubbled up. "And of course it's a dream! We're obviously in my head, where the wizard sent me to see things. I bet he'll give me a bonus when I tell him all about you and, uh, where are we again?"

Jessica took off at a slightly slower pace, glancing down to the stallion as she spoke between breaths. “A wizard? Oh man, now that’s a good one… I wonder if Vicky snuck some of those shrooms into my food again, she just loves sneaking hallucinogens into my food when she can! But, I’ll amuse you, we’re in Louisiana, where it’s hot and humid all year round!” The music slowly turned up a few notches in intensity as she finished speaking.

"Low Easel Annals? That's a curious name, but nice to meet you, Jessica." He tilted his head as he jogged, trying to listen in to the music and wondering where they came from before he realized she was wearing headphones, really small ones. That was also logical. "Your music's not that different than ours. Oh wait, I made up that music, of course."

Stumbling a bit as she erupted into laughter, Jessica came to a stop, bending over a bit as she couldn’t help herself. “You, come up with Pink Floyd? Now that’s a good one! Imagine trying to tell that to the millions of fans! ‘Oh, hey guys, some unicorn came up with all of those albums you love, surprise!” Her laughter running out, she started forward again, walking this time.

Sweet Moon tapped at his chin during the pause. "Well, all the fans would be my figments too, right?" He followed at the more sedate pace, tail swaying with each step. "You don't have ponies around here, I'm guessing? You looked surprised to see me, even if you did recognize me."

“Oh, we’ve got ponies, they’re just not from a little girl’s show,” she humorously replied, shaking her head. “And Sweet, that’s fine if I just call you Sweet, yeah? They’re not figments, I wouldn’t be feeling my muscles burning and screaming at me if I were one.” She reached out and scratched at his ear, grinning. “I’ve somehow got me a pony~”

He leaned against the scratching a little. It was a nice place to be scratched, and he kind of liked this dream-female, as odd as she was. He decided to do her a favor and moved around behind her, trying to suddenly charge forward and get up under her in a sudden offer of a ride. "I'll get you where you're going faster, watch." For a unicorn, Sweet Moon prided himself on being physically active . You can't wander the night and stare at the stars if you were a bookwormy sort of unicorn.

A squeal of surprise slipped from Jessica as she felt herself nudged up onto his back, her hands grabbing ahold of his mane tightly with both hands and trying to recall how horseback riding went, as it’d been years since she’d done it. “Sweet!” she called out in surprise.

It was just as well, with him being a little pony, and not a full-sized horse, but he stood as tall as he could and broke into an even canter with her on his back, proudly bearing her weight down the trail. "Which way are we going?" He had no idea which way to go, but trusted in his rider to guide the way.

After the initial surprise wore off, it was a rather exhilarating feeling, riding on Sweet’s back, although her feet were dangerously close to dragging the ground. “It’s just a ways ahead… the trailhead is very obvious, hard to miss it,” she muttered, leaning forward a bit as she felt that hard bumping that came from riding a horse, or pony in this case, bareback. At least his fur was soft, she mused to herself as she let out a rather loud squeal of excitement.

It was a short run to the trailhead, just as Jessica had stated, where there was a single vehicle parked in a gravel lot. An old, white four door car of some sort came into view, and Jessica pat his shoulder a few times. “This is it!”

Sweet Moon wondered a moment at the curious thing he dreamed up as he approached it. The gravel wasn't as kind on his hooves as the dirty trail and he slowed a bit, stepping carefully until he sank, setting Jessica on her own feet beside the car. "What is it? It… looks kind of familiar, but I can't place it."

Jessica took a moment to steady herself before moving clear from Sweet, walking to the back tire and feeling around, her hand coming back with a small keyring with a few keys on it. “It’s my baby! She’s old, but reliable as hell, and gets me around all over the place. It’s my car,” she explained, unlocking the passenger side door with the keys, reaching in and starting it up, the engine roaring to life as the air conditioner kicked on at full blast, music filling the air even louder than her ear buds had.

Sweet's ears flipped back when the strange machine made its sudden noise. He collapsed onto his haunches, scrambling backwards and falling over, only to roll back to his belly and scamper several feet from the car, eyes on it as if expecting it to lunge at him, or explode, or perhaps both at once. Her subtle invitation to get in was entirely lost on him as he trembled.

Still leaning over the passenger seat, Jessica completely missed his reaction as she pulled the small cooler out, grabbing two bottles of water and turning the radio down a bit before she closed the door, letting the cool air build up inside the car. Looking at Sweet, she paused, frowning a bit. “Hey, what’s wrong? Water?” she asked, screwing the top off an ice cold bottle and holding it out to him before doing the same to the second bottle.

Sweet Moon timidly stepped forward, closing the distance between him and the alien. He sniffed at the water before accepting it in the hold of his magic and bringing it to his mouth to sip from thankfully. "Your strange, uh, thing… It surprised me, that's all." He sipped again at the water. "Has this been in the bottle a long time?"

She paused, staring at the bottle for a moment. A small squeak of excitement came from her. “Magic? Awesome!” she remarked, before considering his other remark. “You mean my car?” she asked with a bit of confusion. “That’s pretty tame, honestly, like I said, she’s old, but she’s reliable… and dunno, bought it bottled from the store a few weeks ago.” Taking a sip, she swallowed it and then let out a sigh. “Tastes great to me! Car should be cooled down in a few minutes, and then unless you got somewhere you gotta be, you can come along, Sweet,” she offered, grinning at that bottle.

Sweet considered a moment with another pull from the bottle. The funny aftertaste or not, he needed some water to dispel the heat and exertion of the ride he gave. "I suppose where I am doesn't matter too much in a dream." He turned the bottle up, taking a deep swig before holding it aloft, floating beside him. "Where are you going?"

“I’m house sitting for my gran this summer while she’s out doing her crazy travels. Out in the boonies in the middle of nowhere, but it’s a nice place, if a bit old. After that running, I need some food, and a nice, long cold shower~” she sang, taking another light sip of her water. “And Sweet, you’re not dreaming, just saying… I was here long before you showed up. So, if anyone is dreaming, I am!” she refuted, slowly walking around to the other side of the car.

Sweet waved a hoof. "Of course you'd think that. You're a dream." He tapped his head. "But if I was a dream, I'd think that too… What if we're both a dream?" His little world collapsed as he found an unsolvable loop. "But then how would we find out if it was a dream or not?" He frowned thoughtfully, tapping a hoof on the ground as he spaced out.

Jessica simply laughed at his conundrum. “Well, if that isn’t some circular thinking there… but hey, get your furry butt in the car, Sweet, she should be nice and cooled off now,” Jessica remarked, getting in on her side before leaning over and cracking the door open for him. “Dream or not, it’s time to go!”

Sweet Moon stepped towards the 'car' and reached with a hoof, pulling it the rest of the way open before hopping up onto the provided seat, all four hooves on the cushion of the seat. The bottle he claimed went right in the drink-holder that he quickly found before he turned his magic on the door and closed it a bit harshly behind himself, misjudging the strength required. "Ready!"

“Hey, easy on the poor girl!” Jessica chided him as she kicked it into reverse, foot still on the brakes. “Hmm… seat belt won’t really work for you, not unless you sit up and back… nah, you’ll be fine,” she mused aloud, her own seat belt secured as she let off the brake, the car starting to slowly roll backwards as she turned it around.

Sweet looked over at her and the belt she wore, then looked over at his own, dangling and abandoned. He put it together even as the car began to reverse and reached with his magic for the belt, pulling it down and slotting it where it was supposed to go. When it clicked into place, he smiled triumphantly, even if only one of the straps sort of went over him without providing too much support.

Putting the car into drive, Jessica glanced over and smiled. “I’ll try to take it easy on the gas, don’t wanna leave ya green. They’ve got carriages and stuff in Equestria, yeah? And trains, too, right? Just no cars.” She enquired, rolling down a long gravel road.

Sweet Moon considered Jessica's words with a little frown. "Carriages, yes, trains, also yes. I never heard of a 'car' before, but I saw something like it? It ran on magic I think. Does this one also run on magic?" He leaned forward a bit and his horn glowed as he tried to feel for working magic in the area.

“Earth doesn’t have any magic, Sweet. This is good old, American ingenuity here,” she replied, the car stopping at a small country highway. Grinning mischievously, she slowly turned onto the highway, barely giving him a warning before she smashed the gas pedal to the floor. “Hold on tight!” The engine roared to life, working its hardest to accelerate.

The sudden pressure pushing him back against the seat made Sweet Moon yelp in surprise, and the magic flicker out of his horn as thoughts went away from curiosity and towards survival. He hoofed at the cushion as he looked over at Jessica. "Is… Everything alright? Did I break it?"

They hit a small hump in the road, giving a brief sensation of topping a rollercoaster as the car accelerated to a somewhat dangerous speed. Jessica let out a loud whoop of excitement before shaking her head, easing off the gas at it topped off at seventy miles an hour. “Nope! That was the engine kicking into high gear to get us moving… god I love that feeling! So, whatcha think, your ‘dream’ enjoyable so far?” she teased him, sticking her tongue out at him.

His tongue wasn't moving past his teeth, fearful that he may bite it. "I'm not sure I like this part! Did I make you mad? Did I make the car mad?" He pulled forward, with the car already moving quickly, there wasn't much acceleration to keep him pressed back, and he looked outside the window to see the world zipping past uncomfortably fast. "I'm sorry! You're a pretty mare and I'm just a stupid stallion and I didn't mean to insult you so if we could just stop please!"

Jessica eased off the gas a bit more, letting the car fall down to a more safe speed that matched the limit posted; forty-five miles per hour. Frowning a bit, she reached over to Sweet, patting his neck. “You’re perfectly fine, Sweet Moon, this is how I get around. I might have been driving a little bit fast there, but this is normal for us humans. And I control the car… the pedal down there my foot is on makes it go, and the one next to it is the brake.” Demonstrating this fact, she let off the gas and lightly tapped the brake just hard enough for it to be felt. “And I can steer with the wheel,” she finally added, slowly swerving into the empty, oncoming lane before moving back into her own. “And pretty, hmm? Not the first guy who’s called me that, but definitely the first pony who has!”

The soft touch did much to impress on Sweet Moon that he hadn't angered another mare enough to throw him off something tall. He smiled at Jessica gently. "If I say something dumb, just tell me. I do that sometimes. I don't mean anything by it though. I just say what I'm thinking." He tapped at the seat he was sitting on. "This is kind of amazing. I can't even believe I'd dream of something so unusual. You just press on it, and it goes? How is that not magic?"

“It’s science and machinery… like I said, Sweet, there’s no such thing as magic here,” Jessica stated again, adjusting one of the vents to blow that cold air onto her face. “Ah, so nice… it’ll only take me about five minutes to get home, what sorta things do you ponies eat? Any sort of meats, or greens, or fruit?” she asked, the scenery shifting from a wetlands and forest mix to a slightly more grassland look as lone houses came into view, looming over the highway.

Sweet shook his head a little. "I'm not a griffon. Green things, I guess, if I had to pick a color, but I like all kinds of colors. Good food's a rainbow of delicious tastes." He allowed his tongue free to lick over his lips. "What about you?" He clopped his forehooves together. "No, wait. You're a scary part of my mind, so of course you love meat, but you're also nice, so no pony meat, which is good. Eating anyone that can ask you not to is just not polite."

“Pony meat? Eww, no! That just sounds disgusting… but beef, pork, chicken, quail, deer, fish, alligator… I think that’s about all the meats I’ve had… and oh, veal! They’re all pretty tasty stuff, steak probably being the best…” she trailed off, a look of bliss on her face for a few moments. “Fruit’s nice too, and I guess vegetables are fine, if I don’t have anything else to replace em,” she finished, slowing down and turning on the blinker, the steady, faint clicking noise filling the cabin.

Half the meat names went flying right over the pony's head, and he put the entire part of it out of his head. "I was right." He looked smugly happy with himself for a moment before the noise started filling his senses and he looked around, trying to find the source of it.

Nearly coming to a stop, the car made a hard left and the blinker stopped. Jessica kept the car below twenty as they passed through an opening in a white picket fence, slightly faded from weather and time. Up ahead, a large two story house sat on the top of a small hill, and Jessica reached into the center console, coming up with a small remote. “Here it is, Gran’s place. All mine till I head back to college. Welcome to my casa, Sweet Moon~” she exclaimed, clicking the button, causing the garage door to open up slowly.

He pointed ahead at the door that opened without anyone touching it. "See, magic! Stop playing with me. You must think I'm so silly, and maybe I am a little silly, but you can't fool me forever." He adopted quite the smug appearance, seemingly sure of himself.

Jessica eased the car into the garage, bringing it to a stop as she shook her head. “Nope, see this?” she waved the remote under his face, a simple black button on a grey square. “I click this, and it sends a signal to the door… see?” She clicked it again, and the sound of the door closing filled the air as she turned the engine off and removed the keys. Pointing to the level on the door, she looked him in the eyes. “Be a bit nicer to my baby, that opens to door, Sweet.”

His face followed with the waving of the remote, eyes on it before Jessica moved on the door. "Yes, ma'am. I promise." He reached for it with a hoof, but that quickly proved fruitless. A little magic turned out far better, gently opening the door and proceeding to collapse out of the car, tangled up on the belt he had forgotten to undo. With a little snort, he began sorting himself out. "I have it…"

Already out of the car herself, she walked over to his side and snorted a bit, simply watching him. “If you say so, all you, Sweet~ It’s just a seat belt, should be easy for a dream, yeah?” she questioned, the fact that a unicorn, from My Little Pony, was in her house, with her, was starting to sink in.

"Of course! Just… a little dream puzzle." He pulled his limbs free of the belt one at a time before wriggling free. Feeling it proper, he carefully undid the belt itself, allowing it to unwind to its resting position. Everything in order, he closed the door ever so gently, not even fully latching the door. "Done."

Just to poke at him a bit, she opened the door a crack and closed it enough to latch it, the light inside turning off. “Close, but not quite. Better than slamming it shut though. Now, let’s get into the cool air, Sweet, and some food… then, I’m gonna take a nice, long shower~” she sang, ready to be rid of her exercise clothes. Exercise was important, but damn if it didn’t leave her feeling tired. A blast of cool air hit them both as she walked into the house, ready for whatever else the day might throw at her.

Chapter 2 - Is This Just Fantasy?

Sweet Moon trotted into the house after Jessica, looking curiously at her recently discarded shoes before looking back at his hooves. He hadn't worn any shoes to the test. "Do your feet get cold sometimes? Is that why you have clothes on them too?" He started nosing around the place, eagerly exploring everything he could poke his snout into and compare human things to pony things. They weren't that far different so far he could tell at a glance.

“I wear shoes cause otherwise, my feet would get cut up and stuff. It’s not very comfortable, I once cut them up pretty good when I ran over a patch of glass, not a very nice feeling,” she explained, wincing as she recalled that memory. “Also, be a bit careful, most everything here is my Gran’s, and I’m here to make sure the place stays clean and nothing gets broken, capiche?” she enquired, plodding her way through the rather large sitting room and to the kitchen, accessed via a dining room. Opening up the fridge, she pulled out a platter of fruit, half of it seemingly eaten already. “Cantaloupe and pineapple to your liking?” she asked, already moving on back to the dining room.

One of his ears perked up quickly. "Those both sound great. I only ever had pineapple once before." He moved to join her quickly, tail swaying all the more excitedly. "I guess we wear shoes for the same reason sometimes, but usually it's for fashion, to look nice?" He waved his flat hoof, unadorned. "I guess I'm looking a little basic right now. Mom always said I was handsome though." Fishing for compliments in his dreams? Maybe.

Jessica let out another one of those musical laughs, pulling out two chairs and setting the fruit tray on the table’s surface. Critically, she eyed Sweet, looking from his face, to his mane, then the rest of his body. She giggled a bit at his tail betraying his excitement before she gave him her verdict. “Handsome? Perhaps. Fucking cute? Definitely!” Grabbing a few pieces of pineapple, she popped one in her mouth and offered one to Sweet in her other hand.

Sweet leaned forward and accepted the slice, slurping it up and licking over it in his mouth a moment before it got chewed up and swallowed eagerly. "I suppose I can be happy with cute. Some mares are in for cute ones." He smiled a little and looked around. "But I guess you're not a pony. Do you have a, uh, human stallion?"

“Human stallion? You mean, a boyfriend?” she curiously asked, wondering why he’d ask such a thing as she pulled some more fruit out.

Sweet bobbed his head. "A coltfriend, a mare would say, but I wasn't sure what a human one would be. Boyfriend?"

“Yeah, it’s not stallions and mares. It’s guys and girls, and then boyfriend and girlfriend,” she explained a bit, humming thoughtfully. “Broke it off with my last boyfriend a few months back, haven’t been with anyone since… why?” she questioned, a bit of weight in that single word as she stared at Sweet.

Perhaps realizing he was pushing into territory he didn't intend, he held up a hoof. "Oh, um, just curious and all that." He moved the hoof behind his head, rubbing lightly. "I did say I said stupid things sometimes, sorry if I bothered you any, um. His loss, you seem like a nice mare, er, girl?"

She eased up a bit, offering out another piece of fruit to Sweet. “It’s, okay. Just stuff like that tends to be a bit personal, not something one simply shares with someone they just met… even if that someone is a rather cute magical unicorn,” Jessica smiled a bit, letting out a thoughtful sigh.

That's right, he was a unicorn. He had a sudden idea for how to lighten the mood. His horn began glowing the same color as his grey-brown eyes and he lifted up some of the spoons he spotted on the counter, bringing them over and making a show of spinning and dancing them about, sort of like juggling, but entirely cheating with his magical grip never leaving the metal objects.

Jessica watched in awe at the dancing utensils, glancing over to Sweet and noticing how his horn was glowing. “Wow, didn’t realize your magic could do more than one thing at a time. That’s pretty damn cool.” Reaching out slowly, she moved to grab one of the spoons that appeared on the fringe and closest to her, closing her hand around it, and his magic.

Sweet Moon put one of the spoons in her hands, or at least pressed the flat against her palm, silently asking to be held. "It's a matter of practice. Sometimes, when I'm just thinking, and looking, you know, at the stars, I liked making things go around, like this." He stacked the spoons up together, then set them down gently to the side, except the one in her hand that remained apart. "It's like learning to juggle."

“Juggling. Can’t do that, tried it once, almost put my eye out,” Jessica joked, setting the spoon in her hand down with the rest on the table, making a note to put them up later.

Sweet reared up, sitting on his hind legs and clopping his forehooves lightly. "You just have to practice, if you want to do that kind of thing. What do you do, besides run and make cars go around?" He tilted his head a little, peering at her curiously.

Laughing at his question, Jessica turned a little to meet his gaze. “The running is just exercise, and anyone can make a car go around. Even you could, with proper instruction. But, I guess that the obvious is art. I’m starting my senior year of university in about a month, getting a bachelor's degree in it. I also enjoy reading, a few sports, but out here there’s not much to do besides running and my computer. Gran’s house is nice, but it’s so dated,” she whined a bit, rolling her eyes. “She thinks it’s still the sixties sometimes, I think.”

Sweet looked around the house, but saw nothing immediately wrong with it, except everything was built for big tall humans and not long ponies. "It looks alright… You're an artist? What kind? Do you draw? Poetry? Maybe music?" He sounded excited at all the ideas.

“Oh, nothing too special. I like to use pencils, and I dabble a bit in digital art. Portraits, landscapes, I try to do everything I can,” she replied, leaning back in her chair with a smile. “Might have to give drawing you a go after a shower, that’d probably be fun.”

The prospect of being drawn seemed to appeal to Sweet Moon, brightening at the mentioning, but so many words he didn't know. "Why am I making up so many words in my dream today? Is this part of his experiment maybe? I never had such a hard time understand ponies before…" He frowned a little. "Digital?"

Jessica frowned at him, shrugging. It’d sink in for him at some point, who was she to burst his bubble? “Yeah, it’s using the computer and programs to make artwork. Some draw on a tablet, others use a mouse, myself I’ve got a tablet… it’s a cheap one, but it works well.”

Images of ponies laboring with a stone tablet danced in his head, bringing a bit of a mirthful giggle from his depths. "How do you use a tablet more than once? And that's kind of heavy to carry around. Do you save it for very important works?"

Looking at him oddly for a few moments, she shook her head. “Nah, it’s only a few pounds, and I use it when I’m not in the mood for my pencils. I’ll show it all to you, if you promise to be patient.” Grabbing a bit more fruit, she offered the tray to Sweet and got up. “I’m gonna go shower, make sure this gets back in the fridge when you’re done, Sweet?”

The offering of fruits did much to put his questions aside for the moment and he reached for the bowl with his magic, lifting it over to himself and taking a snap at the delicious fruits within. "Have a nice shower," he said, mouth still somewhat full of sweet sugary goodness. It didn't hold his attention long though, and the moment she departed, he put the tray aside and began to explore the house, peering at all the amazing things his mind created. What an odd dream…

It was a rather grand house, the furnishings from the sixties, and everything made of wood. He’d already seen a fair portion of the house, but there was just as much he hadn’t, yet. There was a room that appeared to be Jessica’s, with her laptop and art supplies strewn across a massive desk. It looked like chaos at first, but on closer examination everything was organized, although the laptop was closed and the tablet off.

Finding the room that appeared dedicated to art drew the attention of Sweet Moon. He wandered about, peering at the pictures, lifting up supplies to examine them more closely, and generally he got his snout into everything. He was mildly disappointed to find not a single stone tablet in the room. His eyes went to the laptop, uncertain what it was exactly. He gave it a light poke, and noticed a cord coming out of it. Following it he found the wall and frowned a bit.

The only things that needed to go to the wall were things that ran on electricity, right? He poked the laptop again, inspecting it for buttons or something that would make it light up or do whatever it was meant to do. Ah ha! It had a hinge! He applied his magic, gently opening the laptop with a big grin of triumph.

A blank, black screen greeted him, showing only his reflection, as the laptop was currently powered off. The power button was in the top left corner, if Sweet knew what it was he was looking for, and two cords ran from the laptop itself, one to a mouse, and the other to the powered off tablet. Faintly, he could hear music start up along with the sound of running water from the room across the hall, and Jessica’s voice moments later, joining in with the music.

Sweet perked an ear at the familiar singing that had originally drawn him to the human female, but his attention slid back to the laptop. Was it broken? Did it need a spell to open? She said they don't have magic, an obvious falsehood. He spied buttons, so many buttons! They were far too small for his big hooves to strike any one at a time, but careful application of his magic let him start tapping at random keys. Click. Click click. Oh at least it made interesting sounds. Click click click.

Nothing happened, obviously, as Jessica’s voice got louder across the hall. The reflection showed his rather amused face, even though nothing was coming of the keys being pushed. After a short time, he managed to hit the power key, the black screen lighting up as it began its boot sequence with a few noises, although it quickly came to stop on a password screen, an image of Jessica grinning the picture for her username.

Password? Um… Sweet Moon's amused face fell to consideration, then frustration. What would Jessica use for a password? He hadn't the slightest idea. He tried, on a lark, 'art' for a password, daring to hope.

The password failed, and a small bubble popped up. Reading it, Sweet could see the words ‘It’s the usual password, dumbass,’ written on the screen. The constant hum of the fan running inside the laptop could be heard, but nothing else seemed to be happening with the laptop.

Sweet decided it wouldn't be his usual password, because he didn't have one. He stood up with a little snort, figuring he wasn't going to get to play on the strange device. Instead he followed the soft singing, homing in on Jessica's current location on light hooves.

The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, music and running water running underneath Jessica’s voice as she sang to whatever song was playing from a small device on the counter. Peering through the crack, the only thing visible was the sink, raised well above what Sweet was normally used to seeing, as well as a closed closet door.

Sweet paused at the doorway. It wouldn't be polite to poke his snout in on a mare, though there wasn't nearly as much fuss among ponies as there were among humans, being just as concealed in as out of water. Thinking himself only slightly rude, he nudged the door enough to slip in and seek out the source of the song. He proved unable to resist the siren's call, and his voice raised to join the song.

Jessica’s back was to the door, the white plastic only distorting her image slightly as she worked at rubbing conditioner into her hair, which hang halfway down her back, now freed from its ponytail from earlier. She continued singing until she realized that the current song didn’t have a male voice in it. Slowly turning around, she let out a rather shrill shriek and proved just how good of an aim she had, launching a bar of soap that hit Sweet in his flank, hard. “Get out, Sweet!”

A girlish squeak of surprise came from the stallion as the bar collided with his flank. He scrambled backwards and slid on the smooth floor, crashing to the ground and covering his eyes with his hooves, more for fear of more projectiles than seeing anything. "I'm sorry! I just wanted to see where the music's coming from!"

A hand on her chest, as his sudden presence had given her quite a scare, she looked at the quivering stallion. “Sweet… when someone is taking a shower, you don’t just sneak into the bathroom! Music or not! Now, please… get out of the bathroom… my room is across the hall, you can wait for me in there.”

A large eye opened, a hoof moving out of the way. He saw a human female, largely exposed for the first time. He took note of the similarities and the differences even as he tried to not be too obvious about it, turning towards the door with a bit of a blush. "Oh, um, what's your password?" Yes, he could at least get one thing out of this. Truly a clever pony was he.

“For me to know, and you to not know… otherwise it wouldn’t be a very good password. Now, out!” She pointed her hand at the door and snapped her fingers. apparently, he wasn’t doing the best job of keeping his look inconspicuous, and Jessica was looking rather irate now, her arm reaching for another item already.

The threat of more flying things was enough to banish him, and he fled from the room with slippery hooves and retreated back to her room. Ah, that strange thing that ran on electricity and did nothing useful… He approached it and gave it a poke as if that would be enough for it to yield its secrets.

Alas, it wasn’t, and Sweet was left alone in the room for some time until Jessica returned, her hair still damp and hanging, a loose pair of jeans and a short tee shirt on that exposed her midriff. “So, Sweet… you’re cute and all, but if you ever walk in on me in the shower again, not even that will save you, capiche?” she asked, walking over to her bed and sitting down before noticing the laptop. “And curious, too, aren’t you?”

He bobbled his head quickly. "This is the most fascinating dream I've ever had. I don't usually eat in my dreams, and this." He pointed at the laptop. "I've never seen anything like it, or you. You're kind of interesting, but violent. That kind of hurt, throwing that soap at me." He blinked. "It kind of… hurt." He frowned a little trying to reconcile that, then moving up to her. "Pinch me."

Jessica lightly pinched his nose as she began speaking. “This isn’t a dream, like I said before… and that soap was supposed to hurt, you dolt,” she finished, tapping his nose with a fingertip.

Sweet Moon squeaked, his hooves reaching up to rub at his nose. "Oh Celestia, it hurt. It really… really hurt…" He collapsed at Jessica's feet. "It's not supposed to hurt!" He rolled over onto his back, looking up at Jessica. "What's going on? If it isn't a dream, where am I?" His hooves began pedaling in the air as his breathing picked up, working himself towards a good panic as reality began to finally sink in.

Chapter 3 - No, It's Reality

Watching Sweet begin to break down, Jessica felt bad. Getting off the bed she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close as she dodged his pedaling hooves. “Sweet Moon, calm down! I told you, this isn’t a dream, and you weren’t just ‘thinking’ this stuff up… freaking out isn’t gonna help out any!”

The presence of another did much to give the pony a reason to calm, and he took a deep shuddering breath. "Right, right, not helping. Um… So… Um…" His words weren't working very well. "I can stay with you, right, until that wizard figures out how to pull me back and I can go home?" But then a thought hit him. "Oh! Oh! This is all real! This is amazing." He rolled about in her grip, facing her.

Jessica let go of him, on her knees and around his eye level. “Yes, this is all real… I think I would’ve figured it out by now if the last twenty one years of my life were just a dream, yeah?” she joked, leaning back to rest her back against the bed, sitting down on the floor. “And yes, Sweet, you can stick around with me for a bit. Gran’s a bit generous on the funds, so I can afford it, easy peasy!”

Sweet clopped his hooves together. "Good good, then I'll just try to enjoy this." He bobbed his head. "Yes, better to enjoy new things, than to worry, right?" His voice had a bit of a hysteric edge to it, but he was really trying to do his best. "I mean, I already made a new friend, right? She's a lovely friend, if a little naked."

“A little naked?” she enquired, raising a brow as she reached out, resting a hand on his neck, scratching at it. It worked to calm down horses supposively, perhaps it’d help calm Sweet down? “And yeah, freaking out over stuff you can’t control is silly, or so my dad always says. Just control what you can, and prepare for the rest. Sides, it’s summer… too much work to deal with all that nonsense right now!”

Scritches were an easy way into Sweet's happy place, it turned out to be, as his eyes drifted halfway shut and a little equine purr came from him. "That's good. Harmony provides in its own way. But you are naked, it's true." He poked a leg with another leg. "See, fur, almost everywhere, even my eyes, when I close them." To demonstrate he did just that, closing his eyes to show off his fluffy eyelids.

Jessica giggled a bit. “They are kinda furry, yeah, but I’m just fur-less. Naked means not having any clothes on, least here it does,” she remarked, getting up and having a wicked idea. Grinning, she grabbed Sweet and grunted as she managed to awkwardly lift him up onto the bed, flopping back onto it herself, landing on her back. “So, now that you realize it’s not a dream… how the heck you’d end up here?” she enquired, head turned to look at him.

Sweet became curious when he was hauled up onto the bed with the human, peering around a moment before he decided to roll with it. Maybe that was just how humans got along? He nuzzled her cheek a little. "Well, you see, they were offering a few bits to let some wizard cast a spell. It was supposed to make you dream of an odd place, then all you had to do was say what you saw and that was it, easy bits, or so I thought."

“Sounds like the wizard was pretty bad at magic, then,” she remarked, that softness against her cheek lingering a bit, causing her to grin. “And I always wondered how soft you pony’s fur would be… you’re like a giant, warm stuffed teddy bear. Just, not a bear, but a pony.”

He tilted his head a little. "I had a stuffed animal when I was a little foal. His name was Snuggles, and he was a little dog, this big." He held up two hooves not very far apart. "He seemed huge to me when I was tiny, but now he's barely nothing… I still have him, on my dresser. He protects my things while I'm away." He looked around curiously. "Do you have one?"

Sitting up, she nodded. “Yeah, but not here. I only brought a few things with me, the rest is back at my apartment or packed away at my parent’s old place. I’ve still got a bear that’s… this big.” She held out her hands rather far apart, smiling. “It’s very comfy, I’ll admit sometimes I grab it and sleep with it, just because I can~” Standing up, she looked to Sweet. “So, I wanna draw you.”

Sweet sat up on his haunches. "Do you want an actiony pose?" He adopted a fighting stance, as sloppy as anything, but he was no fighter. He had his hooves up as if he was ready to punch something, and he made his horn glow brightly. "Or maybe something contemplative?"

Laughter filled the air as Jessica grabbed at her sides. “That’s just fucking adorable!” she squeaked, grinning at him. “You’re funny, Sweet, but just something simple is fine. When I draw people, I try to catch them doing whatever they’re doing at the time… posing is kinda silly and for the artsy fartsy types. I like to be in the moment, not try to force it to conform to what I might want,” she explained, carefully looking over her supplies now, grabbing a pad. “Sides, this’ll be more of a doodle than a full blown portrait.”

Sweet settled back onto the bed and started musing what a natural pose would be, which happened to put him in his most natural form. He looked like he was considering his place in the greater world, eyes focused on something far off and his body relaxed, like he could sit there and muse for quite some time.

“Now that looks natural,” she remarked, moving her chair over and swiping a few more supplies, settling them down. “So, I’m gonna put on some music for this, if you wanna chat, just ask away.” Jessica sat down and started with her outlines, pencil moving quick as her eyes darted from the paper to Sweet, soft music playing in the background.

Sweet Moon tried to keep himself still at first, but that proved to be harder than he originally thought. "That's a nice kind of music. I figured it out though, your magic. You're lightning magicians! Best I ever saw. You make it do… all kinds of things. I don't even know how. I always thought lightning was just good for lighting things, or zapping things, or maybe, you know, krakoom!"

Jessica paused, looking over at him and rolling her eyes. “I’m telling you, we don’t have magic of any here. We’ve got technology though, and that’s all that it is. We don’t have your cutie marks, either, so we just sorta do whatever works for us as far as life goes,” she rambled on a bit, picking back up her pencil and finishing up the outline so she could move on to the next step. “Electricity has been around for like, a hundred years? Maybe?”

Sweet Moon snorted softly. "Electricity's been around forever. It just takes a very clever pony to make it do something besides set a tree on fire." He clopped his hooves together light. "And you have. You use it for that thing." He pointed at the laptop. "I bet you use it on everything!" He got a grin as his theory expanded by the moment. "I bet the 'car' uses it too! What don't you power with it?"

Smiling a bit as she picked up her first colors, she started in on them. “Nah, the car runs on gasoline, although the battery… I guess it does sorta run on electricity, just not all of it. And that ‘thing’ is my laptop, and it runs on it as well. I’m not sure how any of it works on the technical details, all that I care about is that I can use the things!” Glancing up from her piece, she glanced over his form a bit more, finding his enthusiasm a bit contagious.

Clop clop clop. "I couldn't say how magic works, but it does, and this is just the same thing." He tilted his head a little, looking more confident now that one mystery of the world was put to rest. "How's the picture coming? I bet it's really nice, I mean, not because it's of me, but because you're drawing it." Perhaps realizing that came out awkwardly, his ears fell. "Because you're a good artist…"

“Are you always this adorably awkward around others, or is it only because that you’re on an entirely different planet, hmm?” she jokingly asked, taking the easel and spinning it around so that he could take a quick look at the rough piece so far. She’d gotten his form outlined, and was currently working on his face, a curious expression captured perfectly on it. “This is what I’ve got so far.”

Sweet tilted his head left, then right. "Do I always look so lost?" Yes. "It looks nice though." He settled down, sinking to his belly. "Do you have friends? Oh, um, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, do you have anypony that will come by, to visit? Should I be worried? Will they be worried? Do they like ponies too?"

“You don’t look lost, you look curious, adorable, even,” Jessica corrected him, turning it back around. “And yeah, I’ve got friends, yourself included Sweet. But, it’s just me till Gran returns, all of my friends are out on roadtrips or across the country back home visiting their families for the summer,” she explained, focusing once more on drawing. “And good question… I enjoy watching My Little Pony, and some of my friends do too, but those that don’t? They’d probably be weirded out by a living, breathing unicorn.”

Frowning for a few moments, she glanced at him again. “You know, though… I thought you were a stuffed animal at first on the trail, at least until you talked,” she mused aloud, letting her gaze focus on something not related to him out of curiosity.

Sweet looked uncertain at the doll comment and looked himself over. "I don't look that much like a stuffed animal, do I?" He paused when he saw her working at the drawing and tried being quiet for a change, still entirely unaware of its effect on the world around him.

After a few minutes of silence had passed, Jessica turned back to the bed, blinking a few times. “Uh…” she muttered in confusion, looking at the giant unicorn plush on her bed. Looking at the artwork, and then back to him, Sweet seemed to come into focus once again. “That’s weird… I didn’t look at the art for a few minutes, and you looked like a stuffed animal again.”

Sweet blinked before breaking the effect with a "I'm right here, look, not stuffed at all." He tapped at his chest with a hoof. "What do you mean anyway? I'm not… that cute." Red colored swiftly around his snout and cheeks, and he looked embarrassed at her words.

Jessica rubbed at her eyes for a moment. “The moment you said something, yeah, I can see that you’re definitely there, Sweet. But you were kinda blurry, almost like you weren’t even alive, till then, when I wasn’t focusing on you…” she trailed off, humming thoughtfully as she got up, leaving the half done artwork to sit next to him. “And yes, you are cute, I mean… you can even blush, and your fur shows it! If that’s not cute, then what is, hmm?” she teased him, grinning the entire time.

Sweet Moon hadn't considered it before. Wasn't fur supposed to show blushes? He looked Jessica over and decided she didn't need blushing fur, with her skin all… just out there like that. "You're, um, kind of cute too?" Was that the right thing to say? That felt so awkward." He shuffled in place a little. "Do you play any games, besides drawing?"

A small blush graced her own cheeks in turn, a rosy color that stood out quite well against the tanned skin. “Well, thanks, Sweet. And yeah, I do, that’s also what the laptop there is for. I haven’t done too much besides draw though, I had a summer assignment that I’ve been working through. Hmm, maybe I should include your portrait in it, would mean one less piece I need to do still,” she rambled on, one of her hands moving to rest on Sweet’s back near his neck without her really thinking about it. “I also watch a lot of shows, those’re good at passing time. Oooh, I know… you can watch My Little Pony with me. You’re curious, no doubt that’ll drive you kinda crazy!”

Sweet noticed the touch, ear twitching towards it, but he saw little wrong with casual contact. The curious human mare liked him. That was good, right? "You mentioned that before, a show? Does it work like that?" He pointed at the laptop. "I couldn't make it work. It wanted a password I didn't have." He pouted like it offended him by keeping him away from it. The nerve…

The portrait forgotten for the moment, Jessica got up off the bed and grabbed the chair from the desk, moving it to the bed’s side, before doing the same with the laptop, resting it on the chair and stretching its power cord to the absolute maximum. “Okay, so, let’s just unlock it first,” she muttered to herself, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Sweet again as her fingers moved nearly lightning fast, the space for the password filling out before she hit Enter, causing the screen to turn black for a moment before the desktop loaded up. “Yes, it’s a show, and I can play it on the laptop, you see.”

Sweet tried to see what keys were hit, but his scattered thoughts and introspections were entirely ill-suited for catching a fastly-entered password, and he gave up as the enter key was hit so triumphantly and things happened. "You can watch plays on this? That's kind of amazing. Show me one." He sat up on the bed, clopping his forehooves together and looking ready to be all the more amazed.

“Yup, sure can! Although plays are something else entirely, these are shows and movies,” Jessica was quick to reply, looking back at him and grinning at that enthusiasm he seemed to hold for everything. Pulling up YouTube first, she pulled up a quick example as the sound of music started to fill the air, a random music video that was just there on the front page. “It can do all sorts of things, see?”

Sweet's eyes went wide as it started making noise, no, that was music. His clopping applause got louder before he fell to all fours and applied his magic, trying clumsily to move the little pointy thing like she did. Oh look, a Spongebob video! He looked a bit befuddled by its existence as the cartoon capered and did nonsensical things.

Giggling a bit, Jessica completely missed the hour or so they spent hopping random YouTube clips, finding it rather fun. The summer hadn’t been bad, on account of not having any classes and only a few assignments, but the last week or two had been boring with little contact with others. Spending time with someone again was rather refreshing for Jessica.

Noticing the clock at last, Jessica hummed thoughtfully to herself. “So, Sweet, having fun then?” she asked, internally debating on something that he would either freak out over, or find awesome. Or perhaps a bit of both, even. “So, remember how I knew what you were when I saw you? Want to see why?”

The unicorn bobbed his head. "I remember." Well he did! At least since she brought it up again. "I would like to see it." He settled in beside Jessica, friendly and comfortable with her. "If you'll show it to me, that is. I've been good, right?"

Rummaging through the folders on her hard drive, she looked at Sweet oddly. “Yes, you’ve been good, Sweet, but what would that have to do with anything? Trust me, I’d let you know if you were doing something bad, I’m just glad for the company. All of my friends are busy for the next three weeks, so I’m not really liable to see anyone unless I’m out shopping,” she remarked, finding the files she was looking for. “So, in Equestria, who all are alicorns there?”

Sweet rubbed behind one of his ears. "A lot of my friends, especially the mares, say I act a little funny sometimes… So I try to be careful about that." He tapped at his chin next, considering. "Let's see. There's Celestia and Luna, everyone knows them, oh, and Cadance! And, uh, oh, Twilight Sparkle? I never saw her before, but she's pretty new."

Nodding at his answer, she pulled up the first episode, the laptop working to load it. “That’s good to know. You might find this a bit weird, but… this is how I know you. Well, not you, but ponies and Equestria,” Jessica explained as the theme song to My Little Pony filled the air. Her eyes darted to Sweet, waiting to watch his reaction to seeing his world depicted here on another.